Well Charlotte certainly wasn’t the type to back down and that’s a fact. She certainly in the beginning was a rather irritating and clearly spoiled Princess who I struggled to connect with. In fact thinking about it I just wanted her to grow up and shut up at times. I did feel that the story could have been improved particularly initially with more world building as everything happened so fast and suddenly we have Charlotte and her maid captives aboard a pirate ship and bound for a slave market. Once there the mouthy Charlotte gets herself into even more hot water which sadly gets her violently assaulted although the author tells us and indeed Charlotte about it after the fact ! I just struggled really hard to care about Charlotte although I did like the way the story progressed with mythical creatures and a slight steampunk vibe to add to the fun . I just wish I could have actually cared more for Charlotte but alas no matter how the author tried to show her as being loyal and brave I just never felt that she seemed real.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This book felt more like a draft than the finished article.

Now I’m not the target audience for this. But in my defence I have read a lot of incredible YA reads. This does say Teen/YA. I feel only very young Teens will probably enjoy this.

I knew going in that Princess Charlotte would most likely be somewhat annoying and immature early on. It’s the easiest way to show growth. But this went on for far too long. She would open her mouth and demand....okay I’m not going to put spoilers. Just trust me on the unbelievably annoying part.

The writing was strange as well. Chapters just seemed to stop and start at random.

If I’d just downloaded a sample of this I wouldn’t have continued past the first chapter. But since I requested it (on the strength of so many positive reviews) I felt the need to finish what I’d started.

On a positive note there’s a lot here to like. Magic, fabulous creatures, kidnapping...
The book has potential. But in its current form it was, for me anyway disappointing.

Again I don’t want to give spoilers. But one of the main characters has a random reveal towards the end. It’s thrown in as if it’s nothing. And I was left thinking how did we get so far in without this being mentioned?
It’s because there’s no depth to any of the characters.

Anyway judging by the good reviews a lot of readers obviously enjoyed this. It certainly wasn’t the book for me. And honestly I really struggled to finish it. But I can see the potential.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by NetGalley.

The Pirates of Moonlight Bay is about a princess who is kidnapped by pirates who sell her into slavery. Charlotte the main character then escapes and we follow her adventures from there.

The action starts so quickly I felt I was dropped face first into the book, would have appreciated a bit more world building or descriptions beforehand to set up the story.

The chapters and writing style were both quite strange, when I’m reading I like a chapter to end with unanswered questions or the scene is changing but the chapters felt like they were just cutting in the middle of something that was happening in the book. This may have been the point so the action felt non-stop but it wasn’t to my taste.

There were some good ideas with the magical creatures, the desert setting and I loved the thought of a Princess turned adventurer, but unfortunately I don’t think this book was for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.